Purbeck Folk Musician – a modern storyteller – he doesn’t play music, he creates it

November 6th, 2011

– an audience review

Review by Katherine Knotts 29/09/2011

The Ship Inn, Langton Matravers, Isle of Purbeck, Dorset UK

Packaging Pete Christie is no easy task (in spite of the fact that modern notions of marketing and promotion seem to demand it), so when asked, how would I respond to the question “what does Pete Christie do?”

In the first instance, let’s leave to one side the temptation of making comparisons. They’re rarely precise, and less often useful. Moreover, it’s hard to imagine that the object of comparison ever wanted a box named after them.

So – here it is. On two occasions I have seen Pete play live. On each I was struck with two thoughts, and one question.

Thought One:
Pete is, above all things, a craftsman. His hammer and nails are notes and silences alike – building each melody in a unique percussive style. He doesn’t play music, he creates it. This isn’t nuance here folks – it’s a critical distinction. It’s also his joy. Never have I witnessed someone delight in the very art of making music quite as much as he so clearly does.

However, in a crowded market-place, technical brilliance is rarely enough. And so to:

Thought Two:
What clinches the deal is not his skill, but his soul. Pete – whether he realises it or not – is a modern storyteller. So deftly he assumes this mantle, the long memory that has been handed down from the folk greats of generations past. His music ripples with social, political, personal consciousness, and sensibility. He tells stories that need to be told – or perhaps more importantly – stories that need to be heard.

And so to the question – “what does the future hold?” Is what we’re hearing a dying art, or a fresh new take on the collective memory, cultural intelligence, and simple joy of this thing we call “Music”?